Feeding Babies and Infants

Eating Habits: There is a great diversity of factors that condition the way human beings are fed, such as their family environment, the climate, the type of society you live in, the culture, religion, etc. Starting from a child's birth, the baby acquires some eating habits that will mark him or her for the rest of their lives.

When The Feeding Habits Begin: The truth is that feeding habits begin when a child first drinks his or her mother’s milk or formula. A mom tries to get her child used eating at determined hours, and follows a determined schedule, which is normally indicated by criteria or goes according to what the pediatrician has indicated. As a child begins to grow, these habits acquire a more solid base.

Eating Education: It is important that a child receive an education concerning eating habits so that when he or she starts eating as an adult, he or she will be able to eat well and in a balanced way. This means that if an adult’s eating habits are varied and balanced, most likely their children will follow the same path. However if to the contrary each person ate on his own or bought precooked food habitually, it would be difficult for a child to have a balanced diet. It has been proven that when kids eat home cooked meals they prefer eating an ample amount of different foods.

It is very important to remember that a balanced diet is necessary for a child’s growth and a balanced diet is the first medicinal preventative.

Adapting To New Tastes And Textures: In the moment that a child stops only drinking milk and goes on to eating other types of food, such as juice, broth or mashed foods etc, the child needs somewhat of a long adapting period; obviously this varies with each child. When a child goes from drinking liquids to eating mashed food, to later eating finely chopped food, the level of adaptation increases. Because of this reason, people that live with a child should follow some direction when it comes to feeding: they must be conscious that they are educating a child on how they should eat, and should therefore, truly feed the child.